Wildfire News Of The Day (the Firebomber Publications blog) provides comprehensive international wildfire news. Subscribers include over 10,000 personnel from fire agencies, contractors, and government entities on five continents. "BEST NEWSLETTER I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY 32 YEARS IN THE FIRE SERVICE" - San Diego Fire Department Chief Brian Fennessy.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 072513

The possibilities offered by public-private partnerships in solving water problems in the fire-ravaged western US are aired in an article from the UK's Guardian newspaper (1). An editorial from the Riverside Press-Enterprise newspaper urges Southern Californians to take sensible precautions to prevent wildfires following the massive 27,000-acre Mountain Fire (2); and the US Forest Service has implemented a new wildfire prevention program titled "One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire" in Kern County (3); while a lightning-sparked wildfire continued to rage along Huntington Lake in the Sierras (4); a video segment from the front lines of a wildfire burning in the Sierra National Forest being provided by the next item (5). Oregon Department of Forestry reported that 425 wildfires have scorched 1,916 acres already this year as they brace for more (6). A 1,250-acre wildfire continues to grow on Washington state's Yakama Nation reservation (7); prompting the Red Cross to set up a shelter for evacuees in Goldendale (8); the next article discussing the benefits of "fire-adapted communities" in the Methow Valley (9). Mulching operations in Arizona's Prescott National Forest began today to heal the damage done by the Doce Fire (10). The issue of clearing away dead timber from property impacted by Colorado's Black Forest Fire was a topic for discussion at a Black Forest recovery meeting Wednesday night (11); while Samaritan's Purse extended an invitation to volunteers to help with rebuilding efforts in areas impacted by the Black Forest Fire (12). A meteorologist from Idaho discusses how dry thunderstorms increase the wildfire danger (13); and with 10 major wildfires still burning across the state, they hardly need any more (14). A resident of Bastrop, Texas, has been sentenced to five years probation for falsely claiming losses from the wildfires which raged through the area in 2011 (15). A trio of wildfires continue to burn in Wyoming, including the 3 mi.² Fairfield Fire near Lander which is 47% contained (16); wildland firefighters providing a glimpse of what it's like to travel the country fighting wildfires in the next article (17). A researcher at US Forest Service's Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory weighs in on the issue of outlawing steel bullets which have sparked numerous wildfires in Utah (18); the next article profiling the Fire Lab's "Wind Ninja" software (19); and the one that follows showcasing the Aerial Fire Depot and Smokejumper Center, where many smokejumpers receive their training (20). Virginia Department of Forestry is dispatching a 20-person hand crew to fight wildfires in Utah (21). Canadian air-tankers lifted out of British Columbia's West Kootenay Regional Airport to fight a wildfire in rugged terrain near Winlaw (22); while Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources provided an update on wildfire activity in that province (23). European wildfires were reported in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Croatia, and Turkey (24); and a heat wave in parts of Norway forced officials to impose burn bans to reduce the chance of wildfires (25). Expecting a flareup in hot spots across Sumatra Island, Indonesia has reopened the Riau Haze Mitigation command post at an airbase in Pekanbaru (26). Heading to Australia, Victorians impacted by January's 1,300-hectare Chepstowe bushfire have initiated a class-action suit against the man they hold responsible for sparking the blaze (27); while Rural Fire Service Queensland will be conducting forums to educate people on how to prepare for bushfires across the Redlands region next month (28). And finally, $1.5 billion of federal money will be diverted to fighting wildfires from an unusual source: the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing initiative!